All of my life I have known that I am adopted. And I can gladly say that I am proud of that. I find it slightly humorous when I bring it up, as I do almost everyday because I love to share my story, and someone asks if it is okay to talk about it with me because they have a question. I understand that they ask to be polite and that there are individuals who are adopted and do not care to talk about it. But I can tell you one thing, and anyone who knows me, has class with me, or has met me for even a few minutes, will know that I am adopted.
One thing that is hard for some people to understand is that my adoptive parents are my parents. My mother is my mother, my father is my father. A few people, who do not understand too much about adoption and are speaking with me about my story for the first time, sometimes refer to my parents as my step-parents. I have to have a little laugh and explain that yes I do have a biological mother and biological father, but the parents who raised me are in fact, my parents. And you know how they say that when you grow up with someone you tend to resemble them? Well, a funny story that stands out to me was when my dentist asked my mother if he had my grandmother as a patient as well. She said yes, and he looked at my mother then back at me and smiled saying, "I see the resemblance!" Usually I would giggle and make a silly comment about being adopted, but in that moment I just accepted it because of how happy that it made me. However, the brightest day of my life was when I met my biological mother for the first time in my life.
I remember the day like it was yesterday. It was my first day of summer break before my junior year of high school. I was 16 years old. I have always had contact with my birth mother Keesha. Up until high school, our contact with each other was through the mail, then in high school we agreed to email to make it simpler. Soon after, I made the decision to ask if she wanted to meet. I knew she was married with a daughter, six years younger than myself, and a son, 12 years younger than myself. We were going to meet in Indianapolis at a park across the river from the zoo, then following meeting we planned to go to the zoo for the rest of the day. My parents and I chose to sit at a picnic table facing the river so we could keep a lookout for Keesha and her family. About twenty minutes later I saw a taller man walking next to a blonde woman, and two little heads bouncing along next to them. I stood up and made my way to the steps of the bridge. I leaned over to peak around the corner as my parents followed.
It was her. We both took off running towards each other. Keesha's purse hit the ground and when we reached each other we hugged. I remember her repeatedly saying that I was so beautiful. Our hug felt as if it lasted forever. When we finally pulled apart, we both had tears streaming down our faces and our smiles beamed from ear to ear. My parents followed with hugs and greetings and we sat down to talk about the previous 16 years.
I like to share my story with everyone because I think it is incredibly important for the world to see that adoption can be extremely positive. My birth mother was afraid that she would have hurt me by giving me to a different family, however her intentions were self-less. Keesha desired to give me a life that she felt she could not have at such a young age. Out of love, she chose to find parents who could give me everything I needed, and of course a big sister. And today, I could not be more thankful to this woman for giving me such a wonderful life. I now not only have my family, but all of my biological family in my life. Adoption is the best thing to have happened to me and I will never be afraid to stand for it and share my wonderful life story.
